Because of a previously unexploited weakness in tumor
architecture, nanomaterials may offer a way to treat cancer without doing too
much damage to healthy tissue. The weakness isn’t really a property of the
tumors themselves but of the blood vessels that feed them.
Cancer is an inherently biological disease, in which cell
replication—one of the hallmarks of life—fails to be regulated by the usual
mechanisms. Historically, chemistry has been one of the most effective tools
for treating cancer: Chemotherapy—treatment with cytotoxic chemicals—kills
cancer cells. But most chemotherapeutics also kill healthy cells. Making drugs
that discriminate between cancer and normal cells is difficult, and when it
works, it may not work for long. Cancer cells replicate rapidly, so they evolve
rapidly and are extraordinarily quick at developing drug resistance.